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Today Micorosft released the next version of the Zune software and
announced the September release of the final version of WPSDK 7.1.

New Zune 4.8 released

The new Zune 4.8 release, which you can download here, allows owners of Windows Phones to
update their phone software, sync photos and videos, shop for apps,
and more.

Zune 4.8 does not look very different than the previous version, as
most of the changes were designed to pave the way for the next
release of Windows Phone, codenamed Mango. Microsoft's team
implemented a few new features and made a bunch of under-the-hood
refinements and fixes.

One important job of the Zune software is to update a Windows Phone
software. In version 4.8, Microsoft streamlined the process to help
get your phone up and running again faster with the latest features
and fixes.

- Progressive updates: In Zune 4.8, you only have to click the
update button once for multiple updates. Once an update is finished,
the software automatically checks for more and repeats the
installation process until your phone is completely up to date.
- Streamlined backup. By synching media separately from other phone
content, Microsoft has lowered the overall time it takes to back up your
phone. The backup file is also more compact, so it should take up
less space on your computer.
- Skip phone backup: If you don't have enough room on your computer
to store a phone backup file, you'll now have the option to skip
this step so you're not blocked from updating your phone.

Mango will expand the number of locations and languages where
Windows Phone is available around the world. Microsoft made sure the
Zune software would follow. You?ll also notice vast improvements in
text entry and sorting for many Asian languages.

Finally, Microsoft's team made a lot of under-the-covers changes to
improve your overall experience in Zune 4.8, although not all of
these changes may be readily apparent. Here are a few you will
notice:

- 48-hour movie rentals
- Parental Controls now support M-rated (Mature) content
- Option to hide purchase confirmation dialog for faster app
checkout
- See what apps are compatible with the Windows Phone you own

Windows Phone SDK 7.1

Microsoft today will begin accepting and certifying Mango apps
through the App Hub. This means that new and existing titles
optimized for Mango features like fast app switching, background
audio, multiple and double sided Live Tiles, better Search
integration and more will begin publishing in a matter of days.
Microsoft did not clarify whether Mango will arrive on existing
devices in the coming days.

In addition to new and updated apps for Mango, the nearly 30,000
Windows Phone app and game titles available today will also run on
Mango.

Microsoft has updated and enhanced the Windows Phone SDK 7.1. Today,
the company made the Release Candidate (RC) of the WPSDK available in English and Japanese with
a 'Go Live' license that lets you publish your apps to the Windows
Phone Marketplace. In order to take advantage of the 'Go Live'
license and publish, your apps must be recompiled using the 7.1 SDK.
In addition to the ?Go Live? license, the WPSDK 7.1 RC includes the
completed Marketplace Test Kit, which allows you to test your app
for certification requirements on your machine, running the same
technical cert tests that the Marketplace team runs. Finally, for
those developers interested in making money via advertising, our
Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows Phone is already included in
the WPSDK making it easier to get started monetizing your apps. The
final version of WPSDK 7.1 will be available at the end of September
and will be localized into all of supported languages.

Game developers can now submit their games to the new Mango markets.
Developers can now cross submit games to the newly supported Mango
countries, as well as include any game ratings information, via App
Hub. This also now includes free access to the Pan-European Game
Information (PEGI) game rating system, via PEGI Express, for Windows
Phone developers. PEGI Express is an online tool enabling developers
to generate an age rating certificate for their game which they can
submit via App Hub

If you?ve already created or updated your app for Mango, just
install the new tools to get the Go Live license and submit to App
Hub.